Building foundation skills

Skills are behaviors that a person can learn and improve through practice. Every
day, students are learning and practicing skills as they also increase their
knowledge in the subjects they study.

Skills can be categorized by how they are used and by whom. Some skills are
very specific to a particular activity, job, or industry. Others are needed
by all workers, regardless of job, work setting, or industry. These latter
skills are often called employability skills. Young people need to be developing
these employability skills, and you as a parent can help.

In 1992, the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS)
produced a national report that identified the skills employers need in today's
workplace. These Competencies and Foundation skills are useful in thinking
about how school and other activities help your child prepare for the future.
You will see that the 3-R's (Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic)
are but one part of the picture.

Competencies
Effective workers can productively use:

Resources - allocating
time, money, materials, space, staff.

Interpersonal Skills - working on teams,
teaching others, serving customers, leading, negotiating, and working well
with people from culturally diverse
backgrounds.

Information - acquiring and evaluating data, organizing and maintaining
files, interpreting and communicating, and using computers to process information.

In Oregon, the Employment Department also surveys employers throughout the
state. Employers report that work ethic and other soft skills remain in short
supply. According to its 2002 Employer Survey, employers in Oregon are looking
for these skills:

Percent of Employers

SKILL

99%

Work Ethic

Employers want honest, dependable, and productive workers

96%

English Language

Most jobs require oral and written communication in English.

95%

Reading and Writing

Most jobs require workers to read and write.

94%

Problem Solving and Critical Thinking

Employers want workers who can understand and find answers to problems.

94%

Interpersonal

Businesses - and their employees - thrive when people work
well together.

90%

Math

Nearly every job requires some math skills.

68%

Computer Software

Employers need technology-savvy workers.

68%

Leadership

Employers need skilled staff to guide lower-level workers.

58%

Manual Labor

Technology will never completely replace the need for hands-on work.

44%

Tools and Machine

Many employers need workers who can operate certain equipment.

40%

Spanish Language

Employers' need for Spanish-speaking workers has risen with the
Hispanic population.

As you can see, in addition to the communication and math skills we typically
associate with school, young people need to be learning and practicing
a number of other skills. Everyday activities provide opportunities to learn
about these
skills, think about how we use them, and work on improving them. You may
also want to do these activities with your children: